We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum... Read More »
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
Son damaged neighbours car
Options
looby74
Posts: 1 Newbie
Hi, about 10 days ago my 11 year old son was playing with a friend on bikes on the next street. He was riding on the path when another boy pulled out on him. He had no time to pull his brakes and crashed into a car parked half on the path.
He immediately came home, very upset and clutching his chest which he had hit hard. While he was telling me what was happening the lady owner came round the corner asking if he was OK saying he had hit her car. I said I would sort my son out first and asked her which number she lived at.
About 15 mins later I went round to find quite bad damage, dints and scratches which she initially showed me on the back quarter and back door. I said I would send hubby round when he got home as he knows more about cars than me.
I went off to work, hubby went and had a look and took a couple of piccies. The owners said they would pop to their local garage to get a quote. My husband knows the man at the garage so popped round to get a heads up on possible cost. He said from the pics would be about £175.
We had no further contact with the owners until about 5 days later when the husband turned up on our door with a £300 bill! When we asked why he hadn't told us a price beforehand or told us they had booked it in, he said the man at the garage didn't even give them a price and said he had seen my husband already and between them decided to go ahead. I told him my husband was not the owner of the damaged vehicle so garage should not have done any work just because he had gone round before the owner.
I'm not disputing the fact my child did the damage nor am I trying to get out of paying at all, but surely he should have 2 or 3 quotes and surely he could have checked with us we could afford that sort of money? Which we can't, not outright. Someone advised me we could claim on our house insurance but because they didn't even give us a quote or tell us they were going ahead with the work that's out of the window.
He immediately came home, very upset and clutching his chest which he had hit hard. While he was telling me what was happening the lady owner came round the corner asking if he was OK saying he had hit her car. I said I would sort my son out first and asked her which number she lived at.
About 15 mins later I went round to find quite bad damage, dints and scratches which she initially showed me on the back quarter and back door. I said I would send hubby round when he got home as he knows more about cars than me.
I went off to work, hubby went and had a look and took a couple of piccies. The owners said they would pop to their local garage to get a quote. My husband knows the man at the garage so popped round to get a heads up on possible cost. He said from the pics would be about £175.
We had no further contact with the owners until about 5 days later when the husband turned up on our door with a £300 bill! When we asked why he hadn't told us a price beforehand or told us they had booked it in, he said the man at the garage didn't even give them a price and said he had seen my husband already and between them decided to go ahead. I told him my husband was not the owner of the damaged vehicle so garage should not have done any work just because he had gone round before the owner.
I'm not disputing the fact my child did the damage nor am I trying to get out of paying at all, but surely he should have 2 or 3 quotes and surely he could have checked with us we could afford that sort of money? Which we can't, not outright. Someone advised me we could claim on our house insurance but because they didn't even give us a quote or tell us they were going ahead with the work that's out of the window.
0
Comments
-
Unless I'm mistaken, you do not HAVE to pay this money, they could only sue you for it if they could prove that your child was negligent - which would be incredibly difficult to prove against an 11 yr old. Doesn't mean that you couldn't 'offer' to contribute to the costs if you chose to.
I'm sure someone else will be along to confirm/deny this...All matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration, we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively, there is no such thing as death, life is only a dream, and we are the imagination of ourselves.0 -
Unless I'm mistaken, you do not HAVE to pay this money, they could only sue you for it if they could prove that your child was negligent - which would be incredibly difficult to prove against an 11 yr old. Doesn't mean that you couldn't 'offer' to contribute to the costs if you chose to.
I'm sure someone else will be along to confirm/deny this...
I think they can only sue the parents if they think the parents were negligent.
Or they can sue the child if they think the child was negligent.All your base are belong to us.0 -
Personally, I would offer £175-£200.. The same garage gave that price and you also do not know what damage was on the car before he rode into it. Like you say, they should have confirmed before paying out £300.“Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. Your really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.” Lucille Ball.0
-
I would refer them to deal with their insurance company. They would have to prove negligence as other posters have pointed out and from the sounds of it there was no negligence of the part of your son. The fact that the vehicle was partially parked on the pavement won't help matters as that could have contributed to the accident. This is the sort of thing insurance is for, where nobody is to blame.0
-
£300 for a respray job on a rear quarter and door isn't extravagant. As the owner of the vehicle, your neighbour has the right to get the car fixed with whichever repair he wants and then chase you for reasonable expenses. As far as I can see, he's done nothing wrong.
You still have the option of claiming on your home insurance, nothing has changed there. You should ring them and tell them the circumstances.
You do have the option of disputing liability, forcing your neighbour/his insurer to take legal action against you or your home insurer. However, based on what you said, I believe you/your son do have a liability towards the neighbour. In this, I disagree with rudekid48, I think colliding with a stationary object would be seen as negligence. Particularly if the "path" you refer to was a pavement (you are not supposed to cycle on the pavement). Whether the neighbour would choose to pursue it is another matter.
Its up to you how nasty you want to be really. In the first instance, I would contact my insurer.0 -
....if the "path" you refer to was a pavement (you are not supposed to cycle on the pavement).....
Its up to you how nasty you want to be really.....
It's nothing to do with anyone being "nasty".
It's a fact that parents are not responsible for the actions of their child in incidents like this.
The "injured" party hopefully has some insurance to claim off (assuming loss of NCD/excess/increased future premiums make a claim cost effective)
Otherwise they suck it up!
(You say children aren't supposed to cycle on a pavement. Are you supposed to park your car on one?)0 -
If my son had damaged a car in the circumstances you describe I would feel honour bound to pay up.
Although he would also be without pocket money for a long long time.0 -
Stop listending to people who are trying to get you to wriggle out of it and show your son that taking responsibility for your actions is the right thing to do.martinthebandit wrote: »If my son had damaged a car in the circumstances you describe I would feel honour bound to pay up......
People come here for moneysaving advice, not pulpit bashing and a sermon on honour.
As pointed out already there is no liability here on the parent(s).
It is up to the driver to prove negligence here or pay his own repairs/make a claim0 -
Hi, about 10 days ago my 11 year old son was playing with a friend on bikes on the next street. He was riding on the path when another boy pulled out on him. He had no time to pull his brakes and crashed into a car parked half on the path.
He immediately came home, very upset and clutching his chest which he had hit hard. While he was telling me what was happening the lady owner came round the corner asking if he was OK saying he had hit her car. I said I would sort my son out first and asked her which number she lived at.
About 15 mins later I went round to find quite bad damage, dints and scratches which she initially showed me on the back quarter and back door. I said I would send hubby round when he got home as he knows more about cars than me.
I went off to work, hubby went and had a look and took a couple of piccies. The owners said they would pop to their local garage to get a quote. My husband knows the man at the garage so popped round to get a heads up on possible cost. He said from the pics would be about £175.
We had no further contact with the owners until about 5 days later when the husband turned up on our door with a £300 bill! When we asked why he hadn't told us a price beforehand or told us they had booked it in, he said the man at the garage didn't even give them a price and said he had seen my husband already and between them decided to go ahead. I told him my husband was not the owner of the damaged vehicle so garage should not have done any work just because he had gone round before the owner.
I'm not disputing the fact my child did the damage nor am I trying to get out of paying at all, but surely he should have 2 or 3 quotes and surely he could have checked with us we could afford that sort of money? Which we can't, not outright. Someone advised me we could claim on our house insurance but because they didn't even give us a quote or tell us they were going ahead with the work that's out of the window.
I am sorry, but if you did not authorise your husband to go round and act on your behalf he shouldn't have gone.
I think you should have asked the injured party to get 3 quotes, but by going to the local garage and discussing it it implies that you (in the guise of your husband) were happy for that person to do it. If you wanted a definite figure before they went ahead your husband should have made that clear to the owners of the car and to the garage chap.
Whether you pay or not is up to you, but I don't think the fault for the amount involved lies with the owners of the car.0 -
People come here for moneysaving advice, not pulpit bashing and a sermon on honour.
As pointed out already there is no liability here on the parent(s).
It is up to the driver to prove negligence here or pay his own repairs/make a claim
There may be no legal liability, but there is a moral imperative, but I don't think the OP is disputing that, just the amount of the repair and that it went ahead without reference to her. Unfortunately, I think the "blame" for that lies with her husband.0
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply
Categories
- All Categories
- 351.1K Banking & Borrowing
- 253.2K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 453.7K Spending & Discounts
- 244.1K Work, Benefits & Business
- 599.2K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 177K Life & Family
- 257.5K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.6K Read-Only Boards